This research, conducted through an interdisciplinary approach combining international criminal law and gender-based victimology, provides a comprehensive analysis of the sexual violence perpetrated by the terrorist group Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. These acts of violence are not random or incidental; rather, they form part of a systematic strategy aimed at achieving the group’s political, military, and ideological objectives. Accordingly, the study poses two central research questions:



How can Boko Haram’s sexual violence be defined, classified, and prosecuted within the framework of international criminal law?



Do existing mechanisms—particularly the International Criminal Court (ICC) and regional tribunals—possess the capacity and will to effectively respond to these crimes?



The primary objective of the study is to identify the legal and social dimensions of sexual violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity, while the secondary objective is to examine the deficiencies and obstacles within national, regional, and international judicial systems in addressing such victimization.



The research employs a descriptive–analytical method, drawing upon key international legal instruments such as the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Rome Statute, as well as reports from organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the UN Security Council. Data were collected primarily from documentary sources and case studies, particularly the Chibok (2014) and Dapchi (2018) abductions, which exemplify Boko Haram’s gendered violence.



The findings demonstrate that Boko Haram’s acts of sexual violence are structural, organized, and deliberate, manifesting across three principal patterns: (1) rape and sexual slavery, (2) forced marriages, and (3) the instrumental use of women’s bodies in suicide operations. Collectively, these actions constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute. Repeated sexual assaults, abductions of thousands of women and girls, forced religious marriages, unwanted pregnancies, and the coerced use of women as suicide bombers reflect a systematic policy to impose an extremist gender order and dismantle social and cultural structures.



From a victimological perspective, the victims experience both primary victimization (through direct acts of sexual and physical violence) and secondary victimization (through social stigmatization, exclusion, and the absence of post-conflict legal or psychological support). Utilizing Richard Quinney’s (1983) concept of structural victimization and Nils Christie’s (1986) theory of the ideal victim, the study shows that these women are not only victims of terrorism but also of entrenched patriarchy, poverty, institutional neglect, and the silence of official systems. A feminist victimological interpretation further reveals that such violence represents the reproduction of gender domination and the instrumentalization of women’s bodies within extremist ideology.



Legally, the study concludes that Boko Haram’s practices meet the definitional criteria of crimes against humanity and war crimes as articulated in the Rome Statute, the Geneva Conventions, and the UN Security Council’s resolutions. Sexual violence and forced marriage are not isolated acts but part of a coordinated policy of attack against civilian populations. The research further notes that, while the ICC’s 2020 Preliminary Examination Report recognized jurisdiction over these acts, no formal case has yet been opened, primarily due to political reluctance, temporal limitations, and security constraints.



The study underscores that socio-cultural structures—including patriarchy, illiteracy, child marriage, and extremist interpretations of religion—have normalized gender-based violence in northern Nigeria. Consequently, any criminological analysis must extend beyond individual perpetrators to the systemic and institutional frameworks that sustain such violence. The Nigerian government, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the 1985 UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, bears a dual responsibility for prevention and protection, yet has largely failed to fulfill these obligations. Regional bodies such as the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights are therefore called upon to compel state accountability.



Theoretically, the article establishes that sexual violence in Boko Haram’s political strategy functions as a deliberate mechanism of domination—a means of psychological warfare, social control, and ideological engineering. The group’s extensive use of women in suicide bombings since 2014—over 460 female bombers across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon—represents a new form of gendered terrorism known as Female Suicide Terrorism (FST).



Through in-depth analysis of the Chibok and Dapchi cases, the study illustrates the enduring social victimization of survivors. Even after release, many face rejection by families and communities, while children born of rape are denied civil identity and subjected to lifelong stigma. Citing Pemberton (2015) and Kauzlarich & Kramer (1998), the research concludes that without institutional reform and restorative mechanisms, criminal justice alone cannot provide genuine redress.



Methodologically, the study adopts a comparative and documentary approach, referencing relevant legal cases such as the ICC’s Al-Hassan case, to highlight parallels between Boko Haram’s gendered violence and other African conflicts. It identifies Boko Haram’s policy as a form of gendered governance of terror, designed to control female bodies and restructure the moral and social order through ideological coercion.



The results indicate that effective accountability requires a multi-level strategy:



National level: Implementation of comprehensive psychosocial, legal, and educational support programs for survivors by the Nigerian government in partnership with civil society and international organizations.



Regional level: Empowerment of the ECOWAS Court as a complementary mechanism for adjudicating mass human rights violations.



International level: Active engagement of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to open a formal investigation against Boko Haram leaders.



Societal level: Cultural dialogue and awareness programs to counter stigmatization and reintegrate survivors into their communities.



In conclusion, the research emphasizes that justice cannot be reduced to the punishment of perpetrators; it must also encompass the moral and social restoration of victims. True justice demands acknowledgment of survivors’ suffering, inclusion of their narratives in the collective memory, and the dismantling of structures that perpetuate gendered oppression.



Finally, the authors clarify that the Persian version of this article was linguistically and stylistically edited using the AI model ChatGPT-5 for grammatical refinement only. No data generation or content alteration occurred, and full academic responsibility for the ideas, findings, and interpretations rests solely with the authors.